Here we present some notes on the Beau Hunks Orchestra and other Hal Roach music "recreators", a long, annotated list of where to find the music in the Roach films, and some various cue sheets for music used in different versions of Blotto over the years.

The original recordings used on the "Big Leroy Shield Machine" have been lost for years, as are most of the Hatley themes. (Marvin himself had his own private collection of glass transcriptions, which he shared on his mid eighties LP "Music for Laurel and Hardy Lovers and Friends".) In 1980, Ronnie Hazlehurst, musical director for the BBC recorded an album of "Hal Roach" music called "Laurel and Hardy's Music Box". A decade later he recorded a second volume. Together, they are a noble attempt at bringing fresh life to music that had first been recorded half a century earlier. Both volumes contain some excellent stuff, including beautiful versions of "In My Canoe" and "Good Old Days" as well as some more obscure selections like the theme to SONS OF THE DESERT and some silent era Victor tracks. If occassionally his band gets some notes wrong or doesn't quite capture the sound of the originals, the recordings are still a joy to hear.

A Beau Hunks Mini-CD Sampler

The Beau Hunks, a "documentary orchestra" from Holland, has released several volumes of Shield and Hatley music both in Europe and The United States. If anyone is interested in Laurel and Hardy music, these collections are indispensable. Painstakingly reconstructed from exhaustive studies of all the Roach films or from surviving sheet music, they are as close to the actual Roach recordings as we are ever going to get.

• THE BEAU HUNKS PLAY THE ORIGINAL LAUREL AND HARDY MUSIC

(Europe): Movies Audio Select 99003. Released in 1992. 26 tracks.

An excellent Laurel and Hardy music primer. Includes Shield's "On To The Show", "Bells", "Colonial Gayeties", "Dash and Dot" (from The Fixer-Uppers), "The Moon and You" (from One Good Turn"), and "Fliver Flops". Also contains Hatley's "Stagecoach Conversation", "Sunflower Waltz" "Frolic of the Lambs" and "The Mad Ku-Ku", as well as a short version of the original "Ku-ku". You'll find other classics like "Smile When The Raindrops Fall", a near-perfect recreation of Hatley's "Honolulu Baby" complete with vocals, and several new interpretations of familiar songs from the Laurel and Hardy films. (Their over the top version of "The Curse of an Aching Heart" is a particular favorite of mine.) Incredibly fun!

• THE BEAU HUNKS PLAY THE ORIGINAL LAUREL AND HARDY MUSIC 2

(Europe): Movies Audio Select 99025. Released in 1993. 50 tracks.

Twice the music, twice the fun. Features Shield's baroque arrangement of "Ku-ku" from FRA DIAVLO, Hatley's "Just Dreaming of You", and dozens of other familiar favorites, including "Good Old Days", "Gangway Charlie" "Candy, Candy", "Little Dancing Girl" and a medley of Shield suspense themes. Again, new interpretations of other songs are included, including a beautiful rendition of "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" from THE BOHEMIAN GIRL and a barbershop quartet version of "Lazy Moon".

• THE BEAU HUNKS PLAY THE ORIGINAL LITTLE RASCALS MUSIC

(USA): Koch Screen 3-8702-2. Released 1994. 50 tracks.

The first U.S. volume gathers together all the Shield tunes from the European volumes (with a different arrangement of "Bells"). Contains no Hatley music and no vocals performances, but is still essential as a pure Leroy Shield collection. As perfectly sequenced as The Beatle's "White Album" and damn near as eclectic.

• ON TO THE SHOW: THE BEAU HUNKS PLAY THE ORIGINAL LITTLE RASCALS MUSIC

(USA): Koch Screen 8705-2. Released 1995. 50 tracks.

50 lesser known Shield tunes or different arrangements of familiar melodies, and, not surprisingly, each one is a gem. Two different versions of "Good Old Days", plus lots of great stuff from OUR RELATIONS, "Snowing" from Laughing Gravy, "The Hunting Song" from Be Big!, the incredible "Prelude" and the complete in-sequence "Cascadia" which has to be heard to be believed.

• THE BEAU HUNKS AND THE METROPOLE ORCHESTRA: LEROY SHIELD'S OUR RELATIONS

(Europe/U.S.): Basta 30-9102-2 (European catalgue number). Released in 2001. 34 tracks.

The most ambitious Beau Hunks project ever, a reconstruction of Shield's original score for the popular Laurel and Hardy feature. Contains familiar melodies and many never-before heard pieces. Outstanding - my favorite Beau Hunks effort.

The Beau Hunks, who get together when they have a new project to rehearse and record, have also released excellent re-recordings and recreations of legendary jazz composers Raymond Scott and Ferde Grofé, among others. I can attest to the Scott and Grofé recordings - they are marvelous.

Koch International can be reached at:

KOCH INTERNATIONAL USA,
Port Washington, NY 11050.

The Beau Hunks European LAUREL AND HARDY series can be found on the Internet at Basta Audiovisuals

You've got to hear this music!

1. "Sons of Uncle Sam" (McCoy), "Hail Columbia", "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (both public domain), Unaccustomed As We Are - Piet Schreuders came to my aid once again with help from the Roach cue sheet from this film. The only music in the original print of this film comes during the opening credits (with the exception of "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" on the record player, and Stan's whistling of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"). On the print I have on video, the rest of the film is scored by Ronnie Hazlehurst's renditions of Shield's music - don't know when and where this happened, but it works fairly well here, being mixed just low enough not to distract too much.

 
2. "Ku-ku" (Hatley), Berth Marks - In many of the reissues of the films for television, the opening notes to the Laurel and Hardy theme song is frustratingly cut off. As various versions and formats exist, you may have to do your own search for a clean version. Here on my own copy of Berth Marks taped from American TV, there is a full version, followed by a good portion of the "dance" version of the same song, as introduced by Oliver Hardy on the recording they made in Britain in 1932. (This was added in the 1937 reissue.)

 
3. "The Moon and You" (Shield), Men O' War - A slightly truncated version of this most merry of Shield's melodies, and it cuts off very quickly just after the shot of the woman carrying her laundry. (This music was added for a later TV reissue, I believe.) Also appears throughout much of the kitchen and elevator business in Come Clean and at the beginning of One Good Turn (as well as the coffee and sandwich scene) and Helpmates. And the very rare "introduction" occurs in Charley Chase's Manhattan Monkey Business.

 
4. "That's My Weakness Now" (Stept-Green), The Hoose-gow - a popular tune of the day, it opens this film.

 
5. "Steppin' Along with a Song" (Shield), Blotto - Appears at the beginning of the scene throughout the scene where Stan reads his book and Ollie enters the phone booth. Also appears again as the opening music to the reissued Brats. (This music was added to the 1937 reissue.)

 
6. "Colonial Gayeties" (Shield), Blotto - One of my favorite Shield tunes, this appears rather cleanly in the scene where Anita Garvin mixes the tasty concoction of cold tea and spices, while Stan mails himself a letter. Marred by Stan ringing his own doorbell at the end, but then again this is not a perfect world. (1937 reissue).

 
7. "Crow-Hop" (Shield) - Much of the stuff that takes place in the nightclub is pure pantomime, so most of this dance number is heard completely uninterrupted, except for Stan's unscrewing the cork toward the end. (Stan, if you must make a noise, make it quietly!) (1937 reissue)

 
8. "All Together" (Shield) - A piano version of this song plays while Stan takes out the liquor bottle.

 
9. "Streamline Susie" (Shield) Much of this band piece that follows "All Together" is without dialogue. (1937 reissue)

 
10. "Rhumba Rhythm" (Shield), Blotto - A short rendition of this latin sounding tune accompanies the hot dancer. Cha cha cha! (1937 reissue)

 
11. "The Curse of an Aching Heart" (Piantadosi, Fink), Blotto - No collection of Laurel and Hardy music is complete without this tearjerker, which is even more effective with Stan wailing in the background.

 
12. "Standin' on the Corner" (Shield), Brats - Short but complete enough to satisfy, found in the scene when the "brats" decide who'll get "that nickel". (1937 reissue).

 
13. "Emmett's Lullabye" (Joseph K. Emmett), Brats - Must be included for the sheer fun of Ollie's singing. Yo da deedle da da deedle do...

 
14. "In The Good Old Summertime" (George Evans, Ren Shields), Below Zero - I wonder how many punk bands were inspired by Ollie's bass playing here.

 
15. "Smile When the Raindrops Fall (Howlett, Livernash), Hog Wild - Unfortunately no clean version of this tune appears in any Laurel and Hardy film, but get it just for the opening fanfare. This song was very popular in its day, at least on the Roach lot, and pops up quite often in Charley Chase films as well as in Laurel and Hardy's Busy Bodies.

 
16. "The Cuckoo Waltz" (Shilkret), The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case - Early Victor theme, used very successfully in Wrong Again.
17. "In My Canoe" (Shield), Another Fine Mess - An uptempo version played during the gag titles.

 
18. "Fliver Flops" (Shield), Another Fine Mess - Shield's most amazing chase theme.

 
19. "Yearning" (Shield), Another Fine Mess - The final bars, which ended many a Laurel and Hardy short and which can be heard as soon as the Boys (riding unicycles) come out of the tunnel, would be the perfect way to end your own tape, if you were actually making one.

 
20. "The Hunting Song", Be Big! - Perfect for a foxhunt, and can be found throughout the film.

 
21. "Hootchy-Kootch" (Shield), Be Big! - Stan playing with the exerciser.

 
22. "We'll Be So Happy" (Shield), Be Big! - Follows "Hootchy-Kootch".

 
23. "Slouching" (Shield), Be Big! - Almost a Stan Laurel theme, this slow moving turtle of a melody is found various times during the boot-pulling business, for example, just before Ollie sits in the chair. A cleaner version of this appears in Laughing Gravy as Stan opens the front door for his frozen friend.

 
24. "Ah! Tis Love" (Shield), Be Big - Short but sweet. Ollie pulling the legs of the chair.

 
25. "Excitement" (Shield), Be Big - Immediately follows "Ah! Tis Love". Ollie speaks at the very end.

 
26. "Bassooning" (Shield), PARDON US - Short effect which opens their first feature. (PARDON US is filled with wonderful stuff, but much of it is buried behind dialogue.)

 
27. Various Songs, PARDON US - I would include all the spirituals and group singing numbers at the plantation, the prisoners singing Irving Berlin's "I Want to Go Back to Michigan", and of course, Ollie's beautiful performance of "Lazy Moon"

 
28. "Here are the Pets" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - A frenzied bustling theme followed by a short march, this can be found as soon as the gag titles fade. It originally appeared in Our Gang's Pups is Pups, in the scene where the Gang and their various turtles, mice, pigs and parrots arrive for the pet show.

 
29. "Nothing at All" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - Another "Stan" theme, found just after Ollie says "Take down my speech."

 
30. "Rocking Chair" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - The most famous of Stan's "themes", often illustrating his perversely slow thought process. Found directly after Ollie says "Now read what you have".

 
31. "Hide and Go Seek" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - Sometimes used as a chase or action theme, and sounding vaguely patriotic, this can be heard in the scene where Mae Busch arrives in Ollie's office. A particular favorite of mine. Its title probably comes from the scene in Pups is Pups where Wheezer (love that kid) plays hide and seek with his puppies.

 
32. "Antics" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - Also found during the "car" scene of Our Wife. Somewhat Latin sounding tune.

 
33. "You are The One I Love" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - This is the tune Thelma Todd (or more likely, Marvin Hatley) plays on the piano. Doesn't she play wonderfully?

 
34. "Somebody's Coming to My House" (Berlin), Chickens Come Home - Ollie sings a verse of this song distractedly. I doubt the last line is actually "I can hear Mother say 'if you'll pardon me a minute I'll come right oooooohhhhhhhhh!'"

 
35. "Arrowhead" (Shield), Chickens Come Home - The walking music towards the end, as Stan leads "Mrs. Laurel" out of the house.

 
36. Party music (Shield, Carmichael), Politiquerias (Chickens Come Home) - In the Spanish version of this short, Ollie's dinner party is a more elaborate affair, featuring a four-piece band (banjo, violin, piano and guitar) that plays a lovely, understated medley of Leroy Shield hits - "In My Canoe", "If It Were Only True", "Riding Along", "On To The Show", and "The Moon and You" - throughout the magic act of Cantu. After this, everybody dances to Hoagy Carmichael's "Rocking Chair" and, when Hadji Ali takes his turn at entertaining the guests with his water, acorns and kerosene tricks, the band cranks out "Yasmini", Shield's all-purpose Oriental / Eastern music. This is followed by "Dear, with Me" and some unidentified suspense music as Mr. Ali does his best to set fire to la casa Hardy. The piano player never shows his face, so I don't know if it is Hatley or not. In any case, this whole short is filled with neat stuff to listen to and watch.

 
37. "Candy, Candy" (Shield), Laughing Gravy - Another popular Shield ditty, appearing in the opening gag title and again (cut off) in the opening titles of Come Clean. I think the title of the tune comes from the scene in Our Gang's Helping Grandma, where Wheezer (again, love that kid) wants candy.

 
38. "Snowing" (Shield) - Marvelous music during the "hiccup" scene. Much more "snowing" music is found throughout the first half.

 
39. "Hurry", "Sliding (Swells)" (Shield), Laughing Gravy - Suspense themes used throughout the section where the Boys are on the roof. This incredible chase music appears all over the place in Roach films, and very cleanly in Our Gang's The Pooch.

 
40. "Dog Song" (Shield), Laughing Gravy - Beautiful violins. Listen for it throughout the film, as in the scene where Stan and Ollie prepare Laughing Gravy's bath. Also associated with Pete the Pup from the Our Gang series and heard again, in cleaner form, in Stan's solo scene in Towed in a Hole.

 
41. "Here We Go" (Shield), Lauging Gravy - Uptempo number found during the first bath scene, interrupted by a yowl from Ollie as he slips on the soap. Also found opening Our Wife.

 
42. "You'll Be Sorry Just Too Late" (Gaston), Laughing Gravy, restored reel - Ollie a cappela.

 
43. "Jazz Wedding March" (Mendelsohhn, arranged by Shield), Our Wife - Found first as Ollie picks up the picture of Babe London and practices his "I do's".

 
44. "Bells" (Shield), Our Wife - Strictly used as background music and never as an opening theme for the Boys' shorts, it is difficult to find a clean version. And in this film it appears in three different arrangements, first when Babe London calls Ollie on the phone, then later during the elopement scene and finally a slower version when everybody is piling into the car. It occurs so many times in L&H films, you can almost feel it coming.

 
45. "Gangway Charlie" (Shield), Come Clean - Charley Chase's theme song appeared every once in a while in the Laurel and Hardy films, as in the scene in this short where Ollie pretends he is not home and Stan writes a note.

 
46. "Give Us a Hand" (Shield), One Good Turn - Heard throughout the scene where Stan tries to extinguish the camp (and tent) fire. Also heard as Stan tries to remain asleep despite the telephone ringing in Helpmates. I originally thought that One Good Turn was too dependent on dialogue to be of much use in compiling music, but on a closer examination, there are some nice clean stretches.

 
47. "You Are The Ideal of my Dreams" (Herbert Ingraham), Beau Hunks - Though visually played for laughs, this song, as sung by Oliver Hardy, is beautiful. Charley Chase does his own beautiful but funny version in his High C's. Charley and Hardy were the two best crooners on the lot, hands down.

 
48. "Ku-ku" March (Hatley), Beau Hunks - In this short, which is curiously devoid of music, the Boys enter into the Foreign Legion camp to a marching arrangement of their own theme song.

 
49. "Drunk" (Shield), Helpmates - The inversion of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" heard after the gag title as the camera shows us the result of Ollie's "wild party" from the night before. Listen for it also when the drunk enters in Laughing Gravy.

 
50. "Prelude" (Shield), Helpmates - Again, too much dialogue, but this is one of Shield's more evocative numbers, heard in the background as Ollie returns home "sadder, wiser and dizzier" to a house Stan has handily burned to the ground. It is much more prominent in the early Our Gang films, and is actually an integral part of the strong emotions these depression era Gang films create. It is a marvelous piece of music.

 
51. "Dash and Dot" (Shield), Any Old Port - Appearing first (I believe) in PARDON US, this is almost a Shield version of "Ku-Ku". Here it provides background music for the scene where Stan and Ollie sign Walter Long's register. ("We'd like a room with a Southern explosion.")

 
52. "Look at Him Now" (Shield), Any Old Port - Follows "Dash and Dot" as Stan spills the ink all over the desk. Thanks to this mostly visual scene, both "Dash and Dot" and "Look at Him Now" are very usable. Another good version is near the end of Towed in a Hole, when we see Stan tied to the barrel. Strangely, the boxing scene from Any Old Port has no music at all, perhaps a result of its being filmed later, as an add-on to replace the first reel.

 
53. Piano music, The Music Box - I imagine this was played by Hatley. There is music during the opening credits, and of course, the medley played near the end. The rest of the film has no music at all beyond the occasional rumbling of an angry rolling piano but there is a colorized version which features Shield theme as performed by Ronnie Hazlehurst, which, in this case, is quite distracting.

 
54. "Cops" (The Cop) (Ewing), The Chimp - Opening music. Piet Schreuders who did the bulk of the research and tape reconstructions for the Beau Hunks recordings, has confirmed that this is not a Shield original at all and is not actually titled "Cops" but rather "The Cop". It also appears in the Warner Brothers cartoon Mr. and Mrs. is the Name (1934). A Shield tune actually known as "The Cops" appears fleetingly in Another Fine Mess and a handful of other Roach shorts, but the "Cops" that appears on the Beau Hunks CDs as a Shield melody is actually Ewing's "The Cop". I hope that's all clear because there will be a quiz on this tomorrow.

 
55. Circus Music, The Chimp
 
• "Billboard March" - (John T. Klohr)
• "The Skaters Waltz" (Emil Waldteufel)
• "Over the Waves" (Rosas)
• "Stars and Stripes Forever" (Sousa)
Heard throughout the early scenes, and like everything else associated with Finlayson's circus, it is rather sickly. Again, like Beau Hunks and The Music Box, there is no background music here and this is a short that could really use it.
56. "The Monkey Waltz" (Hatley), The Chimp - more piano stuff, played by Hatley. Ethyl's dancing music.

 
57. "On a Sunny Afternoon" (Shield), County Hospital - Originally issued with no music, in keeping with the general practice of the last few films, where the editors's motto seemed to be "Music? We don't need no stinkin' music!", County Hospital gained a music track during the 1937 reissue. "On a Sunny Afternoon", written for OUR RELATIONS, opens this film but is soon drowned out by Stan's backfiring car. Perversely, music returns to the world of Laurel and Hardy with a vengeance with the release of their next short, Scram! where almost every theme is chosen with great care, but then disappears again for Their First Mistake.

 
58. "In My Canoe" (Shield), County Hospital - The more familiar slower version of this song plays as Stan prepares his hard boiled eggs (saving the nuts for later, I guess.)

 
59. "Colonial Gayeties" (Shield), County Hospital - An alternate arrangement, with strings instead of flutes, found while Stan fiddles around with his eggs.

 
60. "Pack Up Your Troubles" (Powell), PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES - Opening music, naturally.

 
61. "Bride's Song" (Shield), Towed in a Hole - Originally appearing as Babe London's theme in Our Wife, this exquisite piece follows "Dog Song" in Stan's terrific solo scene inside the boat.

 
62. FRA DIAVOLO - Tape all the songs. It'll have a tendency to promote you to higher... endeavors. I'm really fond of Fra Diavolo's song.

 
63. "Ku-ku" Baroque version (Hatley, arranged by Shield), FRA DIAVOLO

 
64. "On To The Show" (Shield), Me and My Pal - The choice of opening theme for many of the later shorts. Though I think it was composed earlier than it's appearance in Our Gang's Pups is Pups, it may derive it's title from the scene in that short where the kids get their pets ready for the big pet show. As for Me and My Pal, this short is a bit schizoid, musicwise. There's music, then there ain't, then there is. Once there is, there is, but for a while, it can't make up its mind one way or the other. Did somebody fall asleep at the Leroy Shield machine?

 
65. "You Are The One I Love" (Shield), Me and My Pal - As the boys start the puzzle, followed by a nice "Gangway Charlie".

 
66. "Dear, With Me" (Shield), Me and My Pal - Too much dialogue again, but this is another of Shield's great waltzes. Appears for a long stretch during the puzzle business. Shows up late in Busy Bodies just after Stan cuts off Ollie tie.

 
67. "Let's Go" (Shield), The Midnight Patrol - Swinging jazz number heard while Officers Laurel and Hardy, who just started yesterday but haven't had a day off since last Wednesday, get their lunch and bring it back to the car. The music in The Midnight Patrol is mixed so low as to be almost subliminal. It is almost as if they added the soundtrack hiss to drown out the music instead of vice versa. It was also about here that the sound editors started getting very lazy, putting any old thing in any old place.

 
68. "Beautiful Lady" (Shield), Busy Bodies - Heard through the scene where Stan, Ollie and Charlie Hall trade punches. Thelma Todd's theme, as stated elsewhere.

 
69. "Little Dancing Girl" (Shield), Busy Bodies - Cannot be mistaken for any other Shield tune due to its infectious piano break. This shows up during the scene where Stan planes off a strip of Ollie's trousers. It also appears in many, many an Our Gang short. A true Shield classic. One of my five favorite Shield pieces. (The other four? "On To The Show", "The Moon and You", "Colonial Gayeties" and "We're Just a Happy Family". Now you know.) Anyway, "Little Dancing Girl" (and "The Moon and You") is what I think of immediately when I hear the name LeRoy Shield.

 
70. SONS OF THE DESERT Theme - Apparently a stock theme and not unique to this movie.

 
71. "We are The Sons of the Desert" (Hatley?) - The official theme song of the Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society.

 
72. "Honolulu Baby" (Hatley) - During the convention scene with Charley Chase. Ollie and Charley talk over some of the intrumental section. Don't forget Ollie's rendition late in the film. There are also a handful of Shield tunes in the background of the convention scene, including "The Moon and You". And at the beginning of this scene, there is a nifty instrumental version of "We Are The Sons of the Desert" complete with authentic crowd noises. Ain't that a daub?!

 
73. "The Iceman" (Hatley), Them Thar Hills - As stated above, this short introduces some hitherto unheard melodies, including this one, the fast fiddle theme that serves as Laurel and Hardy's motif as they drive up and search around the trailer. There's some other unknown music in this short also, most of it with a rustic flavor, and I'm guessing that it was mostly Hatley's. Certainly "I Wake Up With a Song", played during the first tit for tat scene with Charlie Hall, is a T. Marvin Hatley original. Why, at this particular time (1934-35), Hal Roach would ask both Hatley and Shield to start composing new melodies for his films, I don't know. Maybe he thought the leftover Shield tunes had seen better days? Was he was embarrassed at the obvious lack of music in some of the last few? Maybe the Leroy Shield Machine was in the shop? Whatever the reason, it didn't last long. By the next short, The Live Ghost, we are back to "Bells" and "Fliver Flops", though there does seem to be some new music here and there, possibly by Hatley. But when they get to Tit for Tat, it's almost like The Big Leroy Shield machine was set on random play. And then, perhaps because they were folding the shorts unit, the final two, The Fixer-Uppers and Thicker Than Water went back to no music at all. Piet Schreuders wonders if there was some feature in the works that was never filmed, while my theory is that Roach was on the verge of refreshing his stockpile of themes, but then realized the demand for shorts was drying up, so he changed his mind. I have no proof of this, it just feels right to me.

 
74. "The Old Spinning Wheel" (Billy Hill), Them Thar Hills - What Ollie "la da das" and Stan "pom poms" as they fix their swell meal of coffee and beans. Actually a hit song of the period, a rarity in L&H films.

 
75. BABES IN TOYLAND - Every song is worth it. Stan and Ollie's theme is called "I Can't Do The Sum." Baranaby's theme, used splendidly throughout, is called "Melodramatic".

 
76. "Ku-ku" Anvil Version (Hatley), BONNIE SCOTLAND - Face it, you'll want all the versions of "Ku-ku" you can get.
77. "Wi' a Hundred Pipers (arr. Hatley), BONNIE SCOTLAND - Sung by the men in the barracks.

 
78. Dancing Music (Scottish Melody), BONNIE SCOTLAND - The Boys picking up the trash.

 
79. THE BOHEMIAN GIRL - All the songs, especially "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", also done nicely by New Age singer Enya.

 
80. "Ku-ku" Gypsy version, THE BOHEMIAN GIRL - Quick, new arrangement of this deathless ditty.

 
81. "We're Just a Happy Family" (Shield), OUR RELATIONS - Leroy Shield came back as the musical director and composer of this fine film, and this is his opening melody. The main section is heard through the titles, while the middle section (which begins when Daphne Pollard says "Wat's going on here?"), is heard behind the dialogue and clinking of coffee cups. For the most part, all of this score is mixed much too low, almost at Midnight Patrol levels. No wonder Shield left again after this! This ranks in my top twenty list of Shield pieces.

 
82. "Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main", OUR RELATIONS - A charming arrangement of this traditional sea chanty.

 
83. "Change My Clothes" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - Opens the film and is used often in the saloon scenes. One of Hatley's best.

 
84. "Won't you Be My Lovey Dovey?" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - sung by Sharon Lynne.

 
85. "Disgusted / Frolics of the Lambs / The Donkey's Ears" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - Laurel and Hardy's first scene.
86. "Stagecoach Conversation" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - Obscured by Hardy's inane attempts at flirting, but somehow that makes it even better.

 
87. "At The Ball, That's All" (J.L. Hill), WAY OUT WEST - sung by the Avalon Four. Any Laurel and Hardy fan feels like dancing when they hear this song.

 
88. "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (Carroll, MacDonald), WAY OUT WEST - Rare two part harmony from Laurel and Hardy themselves, with Chill Wills and Rosina Lawrence adding their voices for the comic second half. Absolutely charming. I cannot listen to the bass voice section without unconsciously making Stan Laurel faces.

 
89. "Grab the Deed" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - Frenzied excitement where everybody tries to... grab the deed. Ho ho!

 
90. "Where Did You Get That Hat?" (adapted by Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - Plays while Stan crunches away on Ollie's hat. One of the musical puns Hatley liked to work into his scores. Piet Schreuders identified a six note piece by Shield called "Oh, My Hat!" which was also based on "Where Did You Get That Hat?".

 
91. "Gossip" (Hatley), WAY OUT WEST - When Stan, in pantomime, tells all to Mary Roberts. Not quite as whistlable as "Stagecoach Conversation".

 
92. "I Want to Be in Dixie" (Berlin, Snyder), WAY OUT WEST - The final song in the film, sung by Ollie, Rosina Lawrence and Chill Wills dubbing for Stan (except of course for "I know how to spell it!")

 
93. "It's Just an Idea of My Own" (?) (Quenzer, Charig), SWISS MISS - At the tail end of the cheeseshop scene, there is this small snippet of a Stan and Ollie song that hit the cutting room floor, presumably to make room for the likes of "I Can't Get Over the Alps" or "The Cricket Song". At least Groucho Marx was kind enough to eventually record "Dr. Hackenbush", the song from A DAY AT THE RACES that suffered a similar fate at the hands of editors, but "It's Just An Idea of My Own" is lost forever. Unless SWISS MISS is your favorite musical (and if it is, go rent WEST SIDE STORY or MY FAIR LADY immediately), I would skip everything else here. I find this as generic and charmless as anything that ever came from Hollywood.

 
94. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (Friedman, Whitson), SWISS MISS - Well, not everything in this film is generic and charmless.

 
95. "Ku-Ku /Main Theme from BLOCKHEADS" (Hatley) - Another arrangement of "Ku-ku" followed by some typically effective Hatley opening fanfare.

 
96. "Window Shade" (Hatley) - Very rhythmic music accompanying Stan and Ollie's flight up the 13 jiffies.

 
97. "Sunflower Waltz" (Hatley) - A really beautiful section of this composition plays while Stan lights his "pipe". This was one of Hatley's own favorite compositions, but he only had one movement in his personal collection of recordings.

 
98. "Ku-ku /Main Theme from THE FLYING DEUCES" (Hatley/Leipold/Shuken) - Standard all-purpose Hollywood stuff. Ends with yet another arrangement of "Ku-ku".

 
99. "Ku-ku (Military version) (Hatley) - FLYIND DEUCES just loves that "Ku-ku" song.

 
100. Incidental Clothes Washing Music (Hatley/Leipold/Shuken) - Endless variations on "Ku-ku".

 
101. "Shine On Harvest Moon" (Norworth, Norworth), THE FLYING DEUCES - The most charming moment of this most average of Laurel and Hardy features. Ollie shows off those golden vocal chords.

 
102. "The World is Waiting For the Sunrise", THE FLYING DEUCES - Stan imitating Harpo Marx using the bedsprings as his instrument. Definitely a Harpo take-off, in my opinion. Starting off slow, going to a jazzy variation, as Harpo often did in the late thirties and ending with a typical Harpo glissando (a harpando, I call it.).

 
103. Chase music before the plane ride - Again, more Kuku variations mixed in with "excitement/ chase" stuff. The funniest thing about THE FLYING DEUCES, besides the Boys themselves, is that nowhere in the credits is Hatley's named mentioned, yet almost everything is this score, written by John Leipold and Leo Shuken, is either based squarely on or liberally references "Ku-ku". There are more "Ku-kus" in this film then in the Black Forest of Germany.

 
104. "Fanfare/ Ku-ku /Main Theme from A CHUMP AT OXFORD" (Hatley) - Catchy stuff later reused for SAPS AT SEA.

 
105. "The Mad Ku-ku" (Hatley), SAPS AT SEA - We end on, what else, another Ku-ku takeoff, which is heard as Stan and Ollie put on each other's coats in the horn factory. The end, a bugle call version of "Ku-ku" is drowned out by a blast of horn beeps.